James, Squadron will face each other in runoff

James, Squadron will face each other in runoff

Councilwoman Letitia James, pictured at her campaign kickoff rally, tweeted her excitement over the primary. Photo courtesy James campaign

Both candidates call Brooklyn home

By Paula Katinas

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

One thing is for sure: The city’s next public advocate will definitely be from Brooklyn.

The borough’s importance became clear on the night of the Democratic Primary when two Brookynites, Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Fort Greene-Clinton Hill) and state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn Heights-Carroll Gardens-parts of lower Manhattan) were the top two finishers in the race for public advocate.

With no candidate in the five person field getting the necessary 40 percent of the vote, James and Squadron will face each other in a runoff on Oct. 1 to determine who will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for public advocate in the general election in November.

James earned 36 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, while Squadron, who lives in Carroll Gardens, had 33 percent.

On her twitter page, James expressed her excitement at having made it past the first round of voting. “Thank you everyone!!!!! On to the runoff!!!” she wrote.

The other candidates, former deputy public advocate Reshma Saujani, university professor Cathy Guerriero, and NYPD advisor Sidique Wai, all trailed far behind with none of them even reaching 20 percent.

Still, Guerriero, a first-time candidate for public office, said she had no regrets. She sent out an email to her supporters and used a softball analogy to sum up her emotions. “I left it all on the mound. I used to be a pitcher,” she wrote.

“I never liked talking about a loss much afterward, deconstructing the weak points in the game, wailing about what might have been, or vainly disparaging the victor in hopes of making yourself feel better. I always preferred quickly collecting my glove, clapping the dirt out of my cleats, and getting home,” she wrote.

“We lost. There it is. As my mother would say, time to ‘get the stink off.’" Guerriero wrote.

September 11, 2013 - 4:04pm

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